TD Cowen Initiates Coverage on AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS)

TD Cowen started coverage on shares of AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $118.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AXS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AXIS Capital from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of AXIS Capital from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AXIS Capital from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on AXIS Capital from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on AXIS Capital from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $88.83.

AXIS Capital Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of AXS stock opened at $82.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.89. AXIS Capital has a 1 year low of $52.90 and a 1 year high of $82.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.31.

AXIS Capital (NYSE:AXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.41. AXIS Capital had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 19.70%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. AXIS Capital’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that AXIS Capital will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AXIS Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. AXIS Capital’s payout ratio is 26.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AXIS Capital

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in AXIS Capital by 55.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC increased its stake in AXIS Capital by 4.9% in the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 3,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AXIS Capital by 3.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,212 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of AXIS Capital by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 93.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AXIS Capital

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides various specialty insurance and reinsurance products in Bermuda, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Insurance segment offers professional insurance products that cover directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions, employment practices, fiduciary, crime, professional indemnity, medical malpractice, and other financial insurance related coverages for commercial enterprises, financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, and other professional service providers; and property insurance products for commercial buildings, residential premises, construction projects, property in transit, onshore renewable energy installations, and physical damage and business interruption following an act of terrorism.